I sent this m8000 to warn to have rebuilt back in july of 2012, i used it two times to unstuck two 4 wheelers which was real easy for the warn. I haven't turned it on sinch march of this year, before i went trail riding yesterday i spooled it out and spooled it in to make sure it would work because i knew i would get stuck. all electrical connections good, new alternator, new battery. Me and a grand cherokee, both on swampers are riding at the san jacinto river, i go under ih-45 at river plantation or i have a trail made back in river plantation that leads to the river.

we find a spot in the sand that is muddy sand, i go through it once with ease, he gets stuck, i pull him out and then i try to go through it again, i sank. so i hoooked my winch around a tree with my tree saver and pulley back to my jeep, started winching, about 15 seconds into the winching, right as my jeep starts coming out i smell burning, i stop get out and touch my winch, its so hot it burned me, i go to release and all i get is clicking....even today after being cooled off all it does it click in and out...by that time i look over and the ZJ is buried in the sand right next to mine......

i had to walk all the way home get my 97 XJ that i just DETAILED and waxed drive it down through the mud and winch myself out with its smittybilt 8000. the smittybilt didn't bog down and i've used it probably 100 times and half of those pulls i was pulling something i shouldn't have been. It only gets warm, never overheats. Anyways, i'm going to call warn and see if they will repair the thing, as much as it cost me it sure seems like a WARN should have withstood that and 100 times more...It never went under water or got mud on it at all...Sorry i don't have any pictures, we went down there at 8 and didn't get back home til 2am, our phones died and it was too dark to take pictures... What would you do?